Olufunmilayo Olopade facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Olufunmilayo Olopade
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Olopade in 2012
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| Born | 1957 (age 67–68) Nigeria
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Ibadan |
| Spouse(s) | Christopher Sola Olopade |
| Children | Dayo Olopade |
| Medical career | |
| Field | Hematology |
| Institutions | University of Chicago |
| Sub-specialties | Oncology |
| Research | BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes |
| Awards | MacArthur Fellows Program, Villanova University Mendel Medal, Four Freedoms Award |
Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, born in 1957, is a famous doctor from Nigeria. She specializes in blood diseases (hematology) and cancer (oncology). She works as a professor at the University of Chicago and helps lead their global health programs. She also directs the Cancer Risk Clinic at the University of Chicago Hospital.
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About Olufunmilayo Olopade
Olufunmilayo Olopade was born in Nigeria in 1957. She was the fifth of six children. Her father was a musician.
She went to St Anne's School in Ibadan for her high school education. From a young age, Olopade wanted to be a doctor. This was because there were very few doctors and medical resources in Nigerian villages, and people really needed them.
She graduated from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria in 1980 with her medical degree.
She works closely with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. She has done a lot of important research on how the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes affect breast cancer in women of African descent.
She is a member of several important medical groups. These include the American Association for Cancer Research and the American College of Physicians.
Her Early Career
Olufunmilayo started her career in 1980 as a medical officer. She worked at the Nigerian Navy Hospital. In 1983, she moved to the United States. She worked at Cook County Hospital in Chicago until 1987.
In 1991, Olufunmilayo joined the University of Chicago. She became an assistant professor in blood diseases and cancer. She also became the Dean of Global Health and the Director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics at the University of Chicago.
Awards and Honors
Olufunmilayo Olopade has received many awards for her important work:
- 1975: Nigerian Federal Government Merit Award
- 1978: Nigerian Medical Association Award for Excellence in Pediatrics
- 1980: Nigerian Medical Association Award for Excellence in Medicine
- 1990: Ellen Ruth Lebow Fellowship
- 1991: American Society for Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award
- 1992: James S. McDonnell Foundation Scholar Award
- 2000: Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award
- 2003: Phenomenal Woman Award for her work in the African-American Community
- 2005: Access Community Network's Heroes in Healthcare Award
- 2005: MacArthur Fellows Program
- 2015: Four Freedoms Award
- 2017: Villanova University Mendel Medal
- 2019: The Lincoln Academy of Illinois gave her the Order of Lincoln award. This is the highest honor given by the State of Illinois.
- 2021: She became a member of the U. S. National Academy of Sciences.
The MacArthur Fellows Program
In 2005, Olufunmilayo Olopade was one of three African-Americans to receive the MacArthur Fellows Program award. This award gives $500,000 to talented people. It is sometimes called the "genius grant." This money helped Olopade continue her important research on diseases and health problems.
Her Family Life
In 1983, she married Christopher Sola Olopade. He is also a physician (doctor) at the University of Chicago. They have two daughters, including the journalist Dayo Olopade, and one son.
Her Research Work
Most of Olufunmilayo Olopade's research focuses on why some people are more likely to get cancer. Her goal is to find better ways to treat breast cancer in people of African descent.
In 1987, at the University of Chicago, she found a gene that helps stop tumors from growing. Tumors are abnormal growths of cells.
In 1992, Olopade helped start the University of Chicago's Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics. Here, she discovered that African-American women often get breast cancer at younger ages than white women.
In 2003, she began a new study. She looked at breast cancer and genetics in African women from Nigeria to Senegal. She also studied African-American women in Chicago. By 2005, she found something important. About 80% of tumors in African women did not need estrogen to grow. This was very different from Caucasian women, where only about 20% of tumors were like this. She also found that this difference was because of how genes worked differently in African women compared to Caucasian women.
See also
In Spanish: Olufunmilayo Olopade para niños
